FRANCE took a hefty sideswipe at EU policies splitting rail network operators and train companies today after a £12bn contract for 2,000 new trains was derailed.

Train companies found that their shiny new carriages were too wide for many of the platforms on the network and 1,300 platforms out of a total of 8,700 would need to be modified.

Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier blamed an “absurd rail system” for the problem. 

“When you separate the rail operator (RFF) from the user (SNCF) it doesn’t work,” he noted pointedly.

Work has already commenced on modifying hundreds of stations and huge amounts of trackside equipment are being relocated to accommodate the new, slightly wider, trains at a cost of around £65 million so far.

However, there are still 1,000 platforms to be trimmed back and costs are expected to rise dramatically.

When ordering the new trains, SNCF was apparently given dimensions for platforms built since the 1980s, but 1,300 locations on the French network had platforms constructed decades beforehand with a narrower gap between them.

At least 182 new TER trains ordered from the engineering company Alstom last July were too wide for stations in 12 French regions.

A spokesman for rail operator RFF said: “We discovered the problem a bit late. We recognise that and we accept responsibility on that score.”

The mistake was made during a renovation programme for France’s Regional Express Trains (TER) shared between French trainmaker Alstom and Bombardier, its Canadian rival.